Kiwis unplug supercomputer after intrusion
A $12.7 million supercomputer owned by Niwa has been targeted by a computer hacker believed to have come from China.
The computer, known as FitzRoy, is housed in a specially constructed room at the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research base at Greta Point, Wellington.
Niwa chief executive John Morgan confirmed yesterday that FitzRoy was accessed by "an unauthorised person" overnight on Thursday. "We immediately isolated the supercomputer, and switched functionality to back-up facilities in Hamilton," he said. Technicians were working last night to restore the system. "We are . . . confident the intruder did not get beyond the supercomputer."